TwoGuys,aGirl,and a SchoolofWitchcraft andWizardry
by Cosmo Girl
Summary: It has no plot really. Romance blossoms for Herm and Ron. You'll find out something about Cho Chang that is surprising and other kool stuf. Read. Review. Bee Happy. Bee Healthy.
1. At Home

Two Guys, a Girl, and a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Author's Note-I can't remember if it says Hermione's parents' names in the books, so I'm just gonna make up some names. Also, if you don't have a lot of time, don't start reading this. It's super long, and can get very intriguing.  
  
1 Chapter 1: At Home  
  
As the sun shone in her window, 14 year old Hermione Granger woke up and rubbed her eyes. It was September 1st, and she was going to King's Cross Station in just a little over one hour. She had to go back to Hogwarts for her 5th year as a witch-in-training. She loved her muggle parents, Carol and Mark, very much, but was extremely glad to be going back to Hogwarts. She had missed her friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley terribly. She wasn't able to send them any letters because her owl, Fuzzworth, had flown away.  
  
Hermione got out of bed and pulled on her clothes. As she walked into the kitchen to get breakfast, she wondered how her friends (and enemies) would look. She knew her looks had changed from when she last saw her friends earlier that summer.  
  
Since she was just a tiny baby, Hermione had had rather large front teeth and very bushy brown hair. She had her teeth fixed in her fourth year and straightened her hair (with some help from a potion she remembered she'd stolen from Snape in her second year) over the summer. Hermione Granger was now a beautiful young woman, with her long, sleek hair and straight teeth.  
  
She poured herself a bowl of Cheerio's and sat down at the counter. As she was eating, her mother and father walked in.  
  
"Hullo darling", said Mrs. Granger.  
  
"Good morning sweetheart", said Mr. Granger.  
  
"Hullo Mother, Father."  
  
"Aren't you excited?" questioned Mrs. Granger. "You're fifth year at Hogwarts. I can't believe how fast you're growing up!"  
  
"Yes, I am very excited." She finished up her Cheerio's and kissed her mother and father. She then went into the bathroom and combed her hair and brushed her teeth. After she had gotten ready, she went into the den and talked with her mother and father about how she was on the first day she got ready to go to Hogwarts.  
  
"I remember it well. You were in such a rush, you tripped over the cord to the telly and kept hitting your knee on the coffee table", chuckled Mr. Granger.  
  
The family laughed. As they were talking, Mrs. Granger interrupted.  
  
"My dear, it's time to go. Come on you two. Into the car we go."  
  
The three people ran to the small car and got in. They got to the train station in about 15 minutes.  
  
"Well, it's about eleven. You'd better hurry", said Mr. Granger.  
  
We'll miss you dreadfully dear", said Mrs. Granger tearfully.  
  
"I'll miss you too. And don't cry Mother, it's only for a few months. Well, I'd better go. Goodbye Mother, Father. I'll see you soon!" And with that, Hermione kissed her parents, then vanished into platform nine and three-quarters. 


	2. On the Hogwarts Express

1  
  
2 Chapter 2: On the Hogwarts Express  
  
Hermione looked around for Harry and Ron, but was disappointed when the first familiar face she saw was Draco Malfoy. He was taller and scrawnier than last year, but had the same pale face. Before he could get a good look at her, he said,  
  
"Well, if it isn't Miss Mudblood. I see you haven't changed a bit- "  
  
But, for some odd reason, he faltered.  
  
"No. You haven't changed a bit. Well, the hair maybe, but that's all. Well, I'd better get going."  
  
"Not just yet you're not."  
  
Hermione turned around saw Harry and Ron standing there. It was Ron that had spoken. At first, her face turned pink because she thought it was jealousy in Ron's voice, but it turns out he was just trying to embarrass Malfoy.  
  
"You fancy Hermione, don't you Malfoy? I heard you yammering on. 'Better get going?' You're not one to just leave someone alone; we both know it." At this comment, Hermione could have sworn she saw some redness rush into Malfoy's usually pale cheeks. Ron sounded quite proud at getting Malfoy back like this. He had always teased him about him about being poor.  
  
"Me, fancy a mudblood? You must've been eating too many of Hagrid's rock cakes. They seemed to have hardened your brain. It takes more than a pretty face-"  
  
At this, Harry chimed in.  
  
"There! You said it! You said she has a pretty face!" Harry and Ron started to snigger. Malfoy's face reddened again.  
  
"It's just a figure of speech!"  
  
"Whatever Malfoy", said Harry.  
  
Hermione was becoming quite embarassed, being the center of these three boys' conversation, so she said,  
  
"Er, Harry, Ron, don't you think we should get on the train now?"  
  
"Excellent idea", exclaimed Ron.  
  
"Absolutely", Harry said.  
  
With that, the three of them went over to the Hogwarts Express, leaving Malfoy fuming.  
  
They boarded the scarlet-coloured steam engine and got into their usual compartment. Hermione was about to give a sigh of relief because of the fact she was away from Malfoy, when,  
  
"So, Herm, do you like him?" Ron actually sounded serious.  
  
"Of course not! The only way I know him is as a selfish jerk that always calls me 'Mudblood'".  
  
"Well you sound like you want to get to know him." Ron said.  
  
"Why would I want that? He's rude and selfish and…and…er…"  
  
Ron piped up at that. "What, you're running out of bad things to say? How about conceited, mean, unkind, terrible, horrible, rat-faced-"  
  
Ron was definitely on a roll now (and very angry, weirdly enough), but Hermione was about to stop him.  
  
"He's not rat-faced!" Hermione, along with Harry and Ron, looked very surprised at what she had said. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded!"  
  
Now Ron was furious. "Oh. Now I know what you can say he is! Handsome, good-looking, cute, hot-"  
  
"Shut up Ron! I told you, it's not what it sounded like! What's your problem anyway? It's almost like, well, -"  
  
"Well, what? Spit it out! You usually have a big mouth. What about now? Crookshanks got your tongue?"  
  
Hermione simply couldn't contain herself any longer. She blurted out, "It's almost like you like me!" No one said anything, so she interrupted the deafening silence.  
  
"Well, Harry, you say something. You haven't said anything yet!"  
  
"That's simply because of the fact I didn't want to get in the middle of this."  
  
All of a sudden, an idea popped into Hermione's head. Since she was so angry with Ron, she would make him jealous.  
  
"Well you're very smart for thinking that, Harry."  
  
Ron suddenly looked from the window that he had been staring out. He looked very puzzled, as did Harry. Hermione knew Harry had a crush on Cho Chang, so he couldn't like her. But it was Ron she was worried about. She was just trying to make him a little jealous. How was she going to work her way out of this one?  
  
After that little episode, everyone stayed silent for the next half-hour. Hermione was dying to explain, so she went up to Harry and said she needed to talk to him in private. She knew this was the wrong choice of words, because when the two of them were out in the corridor, they heard Ron let out a string of curses.  
  
"Listen, Harry, when I said you were very smart for staying out of the conversation, I meant it, but I was also trying to make Ron jealous. I guess it worked. I mean, I don't even know if he really has a crush on me but…"  
  
"It's okay Herm, a lot has changed over the summer."  
  
"Yeah…So, I just wanted to tell you that. And thanks for talking to me. I don't know what got into me."  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"Er, Harry, do you think you could talk to Ron and calm him down enough so I could apologize to him? That is, if he's not mad at you too."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
Harry and Hermione walked back into the compartment and Harry went over to Ron. Hermione, sitting on the other side of the compartment, heard Harry say that she wanted to apologize to him. She heard Ron mumble "whatever". Harry went back to his seat and Hermione walked over to Ron and told him to come out to the corridor with her.  
  
They went out and Hermione started talking.  
  
"Listen, Ron, I know the way I must have sounded. Like I was defending Malfoy, right?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Okay. Well, I don't like him. It's just that I was getting nervous with you breathing down my neck like that and I didn't know what to say."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Please say something besides that Ron!"  
  
"What do you want me to say?"  
  
"Well, I want you to say that you except my apology and answer my question."  
  
"What question Herm?"  
  
"You know what question. Do you like me?"  
  
"You're a brave girl, you know that?"  
  
"Thank you-I mean, just answer the question!"  
  
"Okay, yes."  
  
"Er, well, okay, just wanted to ask you-"  
  
All of a sudden, Ron leaned over and kissed Hermione. It was just a short, polite, friendly, acceptance-of-apology kind of kiss, but in that short time, a lot happened.  
  
Just then, the door to their compartment opened and Harry stepped out. At the exact same moment, Draco Malfoy stepped out of the compartment next to theirs. Harry started to laugh and Malfoy's jaws dropped. Ron and Hermione stepped away from each other and sort of just stood there. Malfoy's face burned red and he hurried inside his compartment. Harry said out of the corner of his mouth, "Go Ron!" but Hermione looked very distressed and embarassed, so she rushed inside the compartment. 


	3. At Hogwarts

1 Chapter 3: At Hogwarts  
  
The train jolted to a halt. Harry and Ron were still standing in the corridor. They went inside their compartment, got their things, and got out of the train with the rest of the students. None of them spoke. They got in the carriages that would take them back to the school, and sat there in silence too.  
  
Hermione was very confused. Had that just happened? She wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't exactly upset either. The students were ushered into the Great Hall and the Sorting Ceremony started, but Hermione didn't clap for anybody. She was too busy thinking about what happened on the train.  
  
She was extremely glad when they got to the Gryffindor dormitories so she could just go and talk to somebody about it. She sat on the side of the common room farthest from Harry and Ron and started telling Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.  
  
While Hermione was talking to them, Harry and Ron sat on the couch in front of the fireplace and stared at it.  
  
"Great, she has to go and tell the most blabber-mouthed girls in the school", said Ron.  
  
Harry just laughed. "I can't believe you really did that. You really like her don't you? Actually, you don't have to answer that, I already know the answer. Anyway, I think she likes you back." He gestured towards her, Parvati, and Lavender. "Just look at her. She's smiling, and blushing something mad too. She doesn't like Draco. Trust me. He's a nut anyway."  
  
Ron smiled. He was staring at Hermione. "Yeah. She's really pretty now isn't she? I wonder if I should ask her out. What do you think she'd say Harry?"  
  
"I think she'd say yes. I just wish Cho would say yes to me." Cho Chang was in her sixth year at Hogwarts, and Harry had had a crush on her since his third year.  
  
As Ron stood up, he said, "You should ask her again this year. You never know."  
  
"Yeah", said Harry wistfully. As he was brought back to reality, he said, "And exactly where are you going?"  
  
"Where do you think?"  
  
He was going to ask Hermione out right then. 


	4. The Question

Chapter 4: The Question  
  
Ron walked over to the other side of the common room. He was going over what to say in his head when he unexpectedly came upon the place where Hermione was sitting.  
  
"Er, Hermione, do you think you could come with me? I have to talk to you."  
  
Lavender and Parvati giggled as Hermione stood up and walked with Ron to the portrait of the fat lady. There was nobody over there, so Ron started talking.  
  
"Herm, about what happened on the train-"  
  
"Yes!" she said quickly.  
  
"Well, I was just going to say that I really do like you and I just wanted to know-"  
  
"Hey Ron!" shouted Fred Weasley, Ron's 7th year brother.  
  
"What?" shouted Ron impatiently.  
  
"Me and George wanna show you some new candy we made."  
  
"Can't it wait ? This is sort of important."  
  
"Oh, I see! Asking her out are you?"  
  
"Fred!"  
  
"Oops!" And with that, Fred sprinted off.  
  
"Ron! Is that really what you were going to ask me?" questioned Hermione.  
  
"Yes, I just wish you could've heard It from me and not my brother."  
  
"Of course Ron! I'd love to go out with you!"  
  
"Okay, well, I don't really know what to say…"  
  
"It's okay, but I'm really glad you asked me, because I was waiting. That's what I was talking with Parvati and Lavender about."  
  
The two of them walked hand in hand to where Harry was sitting, now talking to Parvati and Lavender about what Ron was asking Hermione. They were all very happy to hear they were going out, but some people weren't.  
  
A/N: Yeah, this is like the shortest chapter, but there's still more to come! 


	5. Day of Infamy

Chapter 5: Day of Infamy  
  
The next day was great for Ron and Hermione until lunch. Of course, they're day was ruined by none other than Draco Malfoy. He had turned quite a bit more bitter (if possible) towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione since the news spread of Hermione and Ron's newly found love. It was easy to tell that Malfoy only liked Hermione's looks because of the way he treated her after her and Ron started going out.  
  
"Well, well, well. It's Hogwarts' newest couple. The mudblood and the pauper. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"  
  
"Just leave us alone Mal-" started Hermione, but Malfoy wasn't about to listen.  
  
"Say you two get married. Who knows what your children would look like?"  
  
"I'm warning you-" began Ron, his face turning crimson with anger.  
  
But Malfoy kept going. "Probably half dog, half hippogriff, something of that nature, but oh! don't worry! They wouldn't be orphans just because of their hideous appearance. If you weren't loving enough to take care of them, they wouldn't be anything Hagrid couldn't handle."  
  
It was this statement that Ron blew up at. He pounced at Malfoy and put both hands around his throat. In between punches, he said,  
  
"You don't *wham* talk about *wham* Hermione and *wham* our possible children *wham* and me and Hagrid *wham* like that *wham*!"  
  
Ron made sure his sentence was long so that Malfoy could suffer as much as possible before Snape could arrive. Sure enough, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall came striding to the scene of the fight.  
  
"What is going on here? Who started this?" asked McGonagall.  
  
"100 points from Gryffindor!" yelled Snape.  
  
"Now Severus, we don't know how this started, isn't that a little harsh? I think we should listen to these two first."  
  
McGonagall was headmistress, so Severus didn't try and argue with her.  
  
Ron, Malfoy, and the four witnesses (which were Hermione, Harry, Neville Longbottom, and Seamus Finnigan) followed the two professors to McGonagall's office. There were only three chairs for students, but McGonagall flicked her wand and three more appeared. The students sat down and McGonagall started talking.  
  
"So, how was this started?"  
  
Ron told her how Malfoy came up and started teasing them, but then Malfoy cut in by saying Ron had threatened to punch him earlier.  
  
"That is a lie! A flat out lie!" yelled out Ron.  
  
"Silence Weasley!" demanded Snape.  
  
McGonagall asked the witnesses what happened. After they each told their version of the story, McGonagall sat, thinking. After a few moments, she said,  
  
"Fighting is a very serious offense so, Mr. Weasley, you have just lost Gryffindor 50 points."  
  
Malfoy looked quite smug, but only until McGonagall said,  
  
"And because you were the cause of this outburst Mr. Malfoy, 50 points will also be deducted from Slytherin."  
  
Malfoy's eyes seemed to pop out of his head ( 


	6. Exciting News

Chapter 6: Exciting News  
  
"I can't believe it. I got 50 points taken on my second day", said Ron in a melancholy voice.  
  
He knew it wasn't the end of the world, but he was hoping that he could be a prefect this year. All of his brother's had been (except Fred and George, but they never cared), and so was his sister Ginny. Only 5th years and older could be voted prefects, and Ron was really hoping he could be one this year.  
  
"This could take away my chance of being a prefect! Now when Mum is sick or something and lying on a hospital bed, and I'm off driving a muggle taxi or something for a living, -"  
  
"Ron-" said Harry.  
  
"- she'll say 'I sure am glad Ron isn't here. He has such a pitiful job and is in such a horrible state-"  
  
"Ron!" Harry began, again.  
  
"-and is such a poor excuse for a son, he'd probably give me a heart attack and I'd die a lot sooner and-"  
  
"RON!" yelled Harry. "Just because you got in a bit of a scuffle doesn't mean you're out of the running for prefect!"  
  
"Yes", said Hermione "and even if you weren't picked to be a prefect, your mum wouldn't talk about you like that. She'd still love you."  
  
The three friends walked towards the portrait of the fat lady.  
  
"Password?" she asked.  
  
"Fizzly Puff", said Harry casually.  
  
They entered the common room to see everybody crowded around the Gryffindor bulletin board. A very exciting post had just appeared.  
  
Attention all Hogwarts Students  
  
It appears that a rather large group of muggles has discovered Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. For some reason, the memory charms that were cast on them were unsuccessful. They are now attacking the school and I have invited all the students and faculty to come and stay with us. They will be here on Saturday, September 19. They have been through much turmoil so we will have a ball to celebrate their coming here. At the ball we will choose the prefects and head boys and girls for this term. I hope everyone extends best wishes to the students and faculty while they are here.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore  
  
"Wow! The whole school? I wonder how all those people will fit here?" Harry wondered aloud.  
  
"Harry, don't be dumb. This is a magic school, remember?" Hermione said in a bossy voice.  
  
"Hey Herm", said Ron. "The 19th is your birthday. That ought to be a nice present, huh? Having a ball and all."  
  
"Yes, and I'll actually have someone to go with this year", she said, looking at Ron.  
  
At this statement, Harry started to look glum. He didn't have anyone to go with, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to ask Cho again. He didn't know if he could deal with the disappointment of her saying no.  
  
Author's Note-I hate that I have to interrupt the story and stop at such a weird part, but I really want to go ahead and post this.  
  
Ron looked at Harry and knew why he looked so upset.  
  
"Are you going to ask Cho again? I think you should."  
  
"I don't know." Said Harry plainly, looking at the floor.  
  
"Well, we'll let you think about that for a while, we have to go to the… uh… library to… er… get a book. See ya Harry!" With that Hermione ran towards the portrait of the fat lady, gesturing for Ron to follow her.  
  
Harry knew they weren't going to get some books.  
  
A/N: Okay okay, so Ron wouldn't actually want to be a prefect, but this just gives better…um… plot-ish-ness to the story, or…something… 


	7. The Question II

Chapter 7: The Question II  
  
A little over two weeks later, the whole of Hogwarts was bustling with excitement over the arrival of Beauxbatons the next day. Everyone was excited about the ball, which would start the moment they came. Almost all the students (and some of the teachers) had dates, except Harry. He had been thinking about what Ron said, but he still wasn't sure he could ask Cho. He'd asked her to the ball they had in his fourth year, but she was going with Cedric Diggory, who died tragically a few months later. Harry was afraid she would think that he sounded like a nerd. Nevertheless, Harry mustered up enough courage to ask her.  
  
As soon as his last class before lunch was over, he rushed to the Great Hall, not even going to the Gryffindor Dormitories to put up his books. In his haste, he bumped into a herd of Hufflepuff first years and knocked a Ravenclaw fourth years' books out of her grasp. He also bumped into Malfoy, which caused him to fall on his rear. That didn't bother Harry that much, as he hated Malfoy. He kept running toward the Great Hall as Malfoy yelled. "You'll pay for that, Potter!" Finally, he arrived and looked around to see if Cho was in there. He saw her sitting with a group of her friends, which brought memories of when he was in his fourth year. He remembered asking if he could talk with her, and then hearing the giggles of her friends, all of which were talking with her now. Goodness knows, he'd heard enough girls' giggles that year to last him a lifetime.  
  
Apparently Harry had been staring at Cho while he was reminiscing, because her friends started pointing at Harry, doing the giggling that drove Harry insane. One of Cho's friends. Hu Li, said "Come on girls, I think we should leave these two alone." They all got up, smiling at Cho, leaving her blushing.  
  
Harry got to her table and said, "Er…sorry to embarrass you."  
  
Cho replied, "Oh. It's okay."  
  
They sat there in silence for a few moments, then started talking at once.  
  
"You first," said Cho.  
  
"Well, I was just going to ask… something I've asked you a million times… do you have a date for… tomorrow?"  
  
"I'd love to," Cho said, with a smile on her face.  
  
"Okay, great! Well, I'll see you tomorrow," said Harry.  
  
Harry walked to the Gryffindor dormitories in a daze. Had that really just happened? Was he really going to the Beauxbatons Ball with Cho Chang? He finally got to the portrait of the fat lady and bumped into Ron and Hermione, who were flirting with each other. He didn't seem to notice them there, and instead of saying the password to the common room, "olive oil", he said, "I love Cho". Hermione burst out laughing and Ron said, "What's the deal Harry, did she say yes?"  
  
Harry nodded his head slowly as he walked through the portrait hole, as Hermione had told the fat lady, "He meant olive oil."  
  
"That's really great Harry. We're really happy for you!" Hermione called to Harry, as he walked to the couch in front of the fire in a dream-like state. He plopped down, and stared at the fire, with an odd smile on his face. Ron and Hermione walked over to him and were swarming him with questions. "How did you ask her?" Where were you?" "How did she reply?" "Did she seem happy about it?" Soon, Harry felt weightless, like he was in a place with no gravity. All too soon, he was snapped out of his trance, by Ron pounding him on the back.  
  
"What? What?" said Harry.  
  
"You were acting strange Harry. Like you were, I dunno, under a spell or something." Said Hermione worriedly.  
  
"Well, I was just glad that Cho said yes." Said Harry defiantly.  
  
"Nah, it was more than that Harry. You were like, in a trance. It wasn't normal!" said Ron.  
  
"Jeez, get off my case, will ya? You're ruining the moment!"  
  
"Sorry Harry." Said Hermione and Ron.  
  
"Well, better get to class. Potions is next, and lunch is probably over by now." said Ron in a melancholy voice.  
  
The three of them gathered their books and went out of the portrait hole to the Entrance Hall. From there, they went to the dungeons, the worst type of environment for a classroom. As they opened the door, they were surprised to see Snape in there alone.  
  
"Where is everybody?" said Harry, rather loudly.  
  
"Don't tell me that the famous Mr. Potter hasn't been told," said Snape coolly. "Beauxbatons will be arriving in about five minutes. We got an owl from them hours ago. There will be no more classes today. Everyone is assembled in the Great Hall. Go on, run along!"  
  
Ron made a sort of sneer as the three of them walked out of the door.  
  
"Beauxbatons will be arriving in about five minutes- Bah! If they are, then how come he isn't there?" Ron said, as soon as they had exited the dungeons. "Probably because he's one of those nutters that are obsessed with work." Hermione looked a little offended at this, so Ron quickly apologized.  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just go put our stuff up in the common room. We need to change into our dress robes too," said Harry.  
  
After that was done, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran to the Great Hall. They burst through the doors, and were very surprised by what they saw. 


	8. The Arrival of Beauxbatons

Chapter 8: The Arrival of Beauxbatons  
  
Author's Note- I made up the fact that there are eight years of school at Beauxbatons instead of seven like Hogwarts. I did that so Fleur could come to Hogwarts, as she is an essential character to the plot (or whatever you call it) of my story. I also made up that Durmstrang got a new headmaster. It is Viktor Krum, since last year was his last year there. I don't know yet if he will be in this story. You'll have to read o to find out. Oh, and BTW, Ron got some new dress robes (  
  
"Wwwwoowww!" said Ron, as they entered the Great Hall. They'd expected nothing special, since they'd been at Hogwarts for four years, but got quite a shock. The room was at least twice its normal size. Hermione, though, didn't seemed that surprised.  
  
"What's the big deal? Everyone knows that when other schools come to Hogwarts, they expand all the major living quarters. This isn't the first time this has happened, you know."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, but Ron was still goggling at the size of the room. They (somehow) found the Gryffindor table, and sat down at the end. As everybody was looking out the windows for any sign of Beauxbatons, a voice rang out above all the excited conversation. It was from Lee Jordan, a seventh year student, which was the Weasley twins' best friend and the Quidditch commentator.  
  
"Look, out the west window!"  
  
There was a sudden hush, and everyone looked out the window. The Beauxbatons students and faculty had arrived the same way as they had for the triwizard tournament, but there were many more carriages, since the whole school was coming to Hogwarts. All the girls in the great hall gasped at the "cute little horses" that were pulling the air-borne carriages, and weren't little at all. When all the carriages had descended to the ground, the door to the most extravagant one opened. Like last year, a foot wearing a black high-heeled shoe stepped out. Hagrid, who was absent from the Great Hall and wearing his horrible moleskin suit, kissed the hand of the person in the black shoe. This was was Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The two half-giants walked to the castle together, and Madame Maxime gestured for the rest of the Beauxbatons students and staff to follow her. At once, the doors to all twenty or so of the Hagrid's hut- sized carriages were flung open. Among the people was eighth year student Fleur Delacour, whom was part veela and one of the four triwizard champions of the previous year. At least one thousand witches and wizards, from the ages of 11 to 700 walked in two straight lines towards Hogwarts.  
  
The doors to the Entrance Hall finally swung open and the sounds of thousands of pairs of feet pounded on the marble floor. The feet could be heard coming nearer and nearer until they had reached the door to the Great Hall. It was opened by Hagrid, who held the door until all the Beauxbatons witches and wizards had entered and sat down at each of the four extra tables. Dumbledore, at the staff table, stood up and started speaking.  
  
"Welcome, students, staff, and Madame Maxime." At this Dumbledore smiled at the huge Headmistress and she smiled back. "Everyone here at Hogwarts is exceptionally glad to see you here again, but we offer our deepest condolences to you because of the circumstances. I solemnly promise to help you and the Ministry find out what has caused this disaster. But, I will speak no more of it, because your stay here is to be enjoyed. Now, that that's all said and done, we shall let the feast begin."  
  
Tons of varieties of food appeared on the empty golden platters. But, just seconds after they were filled, Dumbledore said, loudly, " Oh, how could I forget? Madame Maxime would like to say a few words. I am so sorry I forgot Madame." Dumbledore nodded and smiled as he seated himself and Madame Maxime stood up from her place at the new Beauxbatons staff table.  
  
"Well, hello all 'Ogwarts attendants! All of us from Beauxbatons are very grateful for Professor Dumblydorr's offer to let us stay here. Say thank you students!" The Great Hall resounded with all the French students saying "Merci, Professor Dumblydorr!" After that, Madame Maxime spoke again. "Yes. He is very gracious to us all, especially under such short notice and with zee circumstances and all-" with this, Madame Maxime gave a huge sniff, and Hagrid handed her a handkerchief- "-oh, zank you Hagrid – so we would like to make thees toast to Professor Dumblydorr." She raised her golden goblet and said "to Dumblydorr" as the whole Hall echoed the same. She was seated and everyone started to eat. Ron, Hermione, and Harry began a conversation.  
  
"So, Ron, are you nervous?" said Hermione.  
  
"Nerfous?" He said through a mouthful of fried chicken. "'Bou' wha'?"  
  
"Urgh! About this!" She pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket. "They're choosing the prefects, Head Boy, and Head Girl tonight! I copied Dumbledore's notice so I wouldn't forget all that was going on tonight."  
  
Ron appeared to be choking on his drumstick. "I forgot all about that! With all that's going on, I didn't even think about it!"  
  
"That's why I copied the notice," said Hermione knowingly.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter now. We'll know soon."  
  
The feast went smoothly, except for Peeves coming in and dropping oranges on Neville's head, which was stopped quickly by the Bloody Baron. Fleur could be heard saying, "Poltergeists. Hmph!", but that was all. At the end of the feast, Dumbledore stood up.  
  
"Attention everyone! Attention, yes, thank you. Now, Professor McGonagall shall announce this year's prefects, Head Boy, and Head Girl." 


End file.
